big little white men

I’d walk out of the house
and meet no friendly mugger (not mugger
in terms of physics-vacuum-machine-quantum-bag
but mugger as in mugger for real) –
baseball cap over shifty eyes and a black
leather jacket with silver (some cheap metal) buttons to match
no molesters rapists big/small bad guys
just honest unpaid construction workers
holed up fifty-in-a-one-room-flat

I’d march to the rhythm of beeping ez-links
bob my head to the drone of the ever-concerned, ever-
Invisible Lady telling who-knows-who to stand behind
the yellow line and not eat or drink in case hamburgers
got stuck between train doors and jammed up the entire system
and in case soft drinks (don’t forget the bubbles)
spilled on the stainless steel benches and made them rusty

I’d stand behind the glass, no, plastic windows
watch the carriages tunnel through the tunnel
no graffiti-spit-gum-durian-hamburger-cheeseburger-coke-pepsi
no nothing.

I’d hurry to the public toilet and pay ten cents
for a packet of tissue I don’t even want
rush into the cubicle and lock the door (in case the
Malay lady messed up the toilet-cleaning timetable)
then I’d see a big little white man with
a garland of orchids around his neck
telling me that if I didn’t flush the little white bowl
I’d be fined a thousand dollars

I’d walk out of the toilet (after flushing the bowl)
go to the main road and see big little white men
running everywhere.

-

Author’s Note - FYI: EZ-Links are cards with ‘stored value’ which allow us Singaporeans to travel on buses and trains with convenience. They beep noisily (sometimes once, sometimes twice, sometimes many times if there’s an error) when we tap them on the reader. Oh and the White Men can be found in any Singapore History textbook. I shan’t disclose their identity because if they ever stumble upon this writing, I’ll be quaking in my boots, no, quaking in my White Bata School Shoes. (